Born on October 9, 1946, a musical prodigy from the age of four, Zarin Sharma nee Daruwala is a celebrated sarod maestro. Her gurus are Pandit Haripada Ghosh, Pandit Bhishmadev Vedi, Pandit Laxmanprasad Jaipurwale, Pandit V G Jog, Dr S C R Bhat and Padma Bhushan Dr S N Ratanjankar. Zarin ji possesses a rare command over this enchanting instrument and has a distinctive individual style. She plays with great finesse and her mastery of the instrument is rooted in a thorough understanding of it and years of dedicated practice. Her rendering of uncommon ragas with uncommon talas with difficult layakari coupled with tayyari is her forte.

She won the All India Radio music competition at New Delhi in the year 1960 when she was only 13 years old and there has been no stopping her since. When she was fourteen, she played the title music for a Hindi film but began a much longer association with film music some years later and was the first female classical musician to do so. She went on to win numerous trophies and honours, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1988. She received the “Maharashtra Gaurav Puraskar” from the Maharashtra government in 1990. She has been Honoured by Dadasaheb Phalke Academy award for the year 2007.

Zarin ji has performed all over India at major venues and for dignitaries, consuls and ambassadors. She was chosen to perform before Her Majesty, the Queen of England when her Majesty visited India in 1961. Her disciples include well-known santoor player Ulhas Bapat.